NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope Launching Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 to Explore Cosmic Evolution

NASA’s newest infrared space telescope, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), is scheduled for launch on 28 February. The project, estimated at $488 million, will launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Created to observe the whole sky in infrared wavelengths, it will gather information from more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars within the Milky Way. The telescope will concentrate its observations on areas of the universe usually too far away or dim for standard telescopes.

As stated by NASA, the main goal of SPHEREx is to improve knowledge of cosmic inflation, the swift expansion of the universe that took place during the first moment after the Big Bang. Through charting the vast structure of the universe, the telescope will offer understanding of how galaxies originated and developed. Researchers also expect that its information will assist in monitoring the existence and spread of icy molecules in interstellar space, illuminating the beginnings of water and vital organic compounds necessary for life.

According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), SPHEREx has a mass of around 500 kilograms and runs on 270 to 300 watts of energy. It features a spectrophotometer that can detect 102 distinct wavelengths of light, enabling it to recognize unique chemical signatures of molecules throughout space. James Fanson, the Project Manager at JPL, informed NPR that the mission’s data is expected to yield unforeseen discoveries.

According to reports, this launch will include other payloads in addition to SPHEREx. It will carry the Falcon 9 alongside PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), a NASA undertaking made up of four satellites that will investigate the sun’s outer atmosphere and the dynamics of solar wind. Collectively, these missions seek to enhance scientific understanding of the far-off universe and the surrounding solar environment.